Partners
by Molten-Ashes
Summary: They met in the fires of battle... She helped him and he saved her.


Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers!

Please R&R!

(How Arcee and Tailgate met and became partners.)

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><p>It had been in the middle of battle when they first met. A hotshot young femme that was flourishing under the Femme Division Commander, and a rising sniper accidently thrown into the thick of battle after a miscommunication.<p>

"What are you doing here?" she shouted at the white swirled dark ruby mech as he precisely shot two Decepticon's through their spark chambers when they strayed too close to his position in an explosions crater.

"I have no clue!" he gleefully shouted back, vaulting out of his sheltered position to slam the butt of his sniper rifle into an unsuspecting Decepticon's faceplate. "How about you?" he asked, golden optics winking cheekily as they drew level with each other, the femme staring impassively at his bulky powerful frame that had the sniper rifle now leaning on his shoulder.

"I'm from Elita's Division." The dark blue femme said proudly as they ran to take shelter behind a broken down building peppered with scattershot rounds, the mech crouching down to reload his sniper rifle with plasma bullets.

"Delta-Squad." The mech offered back as he snapped the barrel of his gun back into place with a grin, his amber optics alight with the excitement of the battle, "Tailgate at your service milady."

"Arcee," she replied puzzled at the mech's cheerful attitude as he subspaced what appeared to be a mirror on a long handle, aiming the mirror around the corner to view the escalating battle beyond their hiding place. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously peering over his shoulder plating from where she was crouched beside him, flinching as a series of plasma rounds flew through a hole in the wall they were taking shelter behind.

"Finding somewhere to set up shop." Tailgate replied tilting the mirror towards a high building that seemed abandoned and empty, pointing at a special collapsible sniper stand that was magnetised to his hip plating. "I'm kinda useless without a vantage point, femme."

"So what building you going for?" the dark blue femme asked as the mech subspaced his mirror, tightening his grip on his gun, cables and joints tightening, ready to bolt.

"Medium sized one." Tailgate replied wearily as they watched an Autobot fall with his spark chamber open to the heavens, pierced by a lucky shot from a Decepticon sniper. "Frag, I'll need cover."

"How much cover do you need?" Arcee asked flicking her daggers in her servos as the sniper the Autobots needed prepared to across a literal mine field of flying mortar and plasma rounds.

"Enough that it won't cause those Decepticon snipers to actively shoot me." The dark ruby mech nervously grinned at her, his fear being channelled into the banter they were currently having.

"Tailgate!" the white swirled mech's radio hissed and crackled into life as the Decepticon jamming signal was severed, the generator causing the blackout of communication lines going up in a mushroom cloud of smoke and fire, rocking the ground and tossing battling mechs and femme's from their pedes. "Get your aft to a vantage point! We need cover down here frag it!"

"Well, I'll be off." Tailgate chuckled "Commander's always right after all."

"I'll cover you." Arcee smiled as they bolted from the shelter, a medic and an injured patient taking their place as they zig-zagged across the battlefield, the lithe femme sometimes darting ahead to greet blocking Decepticon's with a battle cry and flashing dual daggers.

"See ya later Arcee!" the sniper called as he disappeared up the exposed stairway, leaving the femme to finish off her opponent.

"Arcee!" he commander called through the communication link "Back in formation!"

Obeying her commander and leaving the sniper known as Tailgate to do his job she turned to race back across the battlefield towards her division for the final assault, crying out as a piercing pain lanced up her leg, tripping her midstride, sending her skidding in spilled mech fluids and grease to the ground.

_**==Tailgate== **_

He had set up his position with a brief encrypted burst of code to his commander which was acknowledged with a simple beep of conformation from all of his peers as he snapped open the rifle stand and magnetised his gun to the rotating frame.

He calmly began to pick off Decepticon snipers, each enemy falling back with silent gaping shock or falling from their vantage points with a shriek of death as they hit the battle ground below.

Seekers had yet to show up at the skirmish, but he occasionally rotated his gun barrel and targeting piece to the sky wearily alert for the bombing Decepticon Air Support.

As the last Decepticon sniper was felled he began to pick off ground troops, missing only one out of every ten shots, before he spotted an alarming sight through his scope.

The femme that had helped him to his vantage point, Arcee, was on the ground, leaning against a dead Decepticon tank frame as she attempted to repair her leg injury and evade detection from the Decepticon that was now scouring near her position. He zoomed in on the femme's injury through his powerful sniper scope attached to his rifle, cursing as he saw it had ripped right through the dark blue plated cycleformer's knee joint.

He shifted, aiming his shots for the Decepticon drawing ever nearer to the fallen Autobot realising the angle was too steep before moving away from his post preparing to go and help the femme. "Tailgate!" his communication link buzzed with the voice of his enraged commander as he drew his smaller blaster from his subspace "Don't you dare abandon your vantage point!"

"An Autobot is in need sir," Tailgate replied cutting the link, leaving his sniper rifle set up and jogging down the fractured stairs of the abandoned building, leaning against the broken wall and peering around the corner where he saw the Decepticon sneering at Arcee, holding the femme up by her neck cabling.

"One shot," he muttered to himself as the Decepticon flared his talons to cut the dark blue femme's main energon line as she fell offline. "And for the love of Primus, don't miss."

He fired.

_**==Arcee== **_

She awoke with a throbbing helm-ache, and a painful stiffness in her leg.

"Where am I?" she groggily asked the shadow that entered her vision, her optic covers blearily shuttering under the bright lights of the room.

"In the Medbay." A familiar voice said cheerfully, higher pitched and obviously a femme.

"Chromia," Arcee groaned as everything came into focus, the light blue femme grinning down at her. "What's going on?"

"Of all the places to pick up a mech," the baby blue femme tutted shaking her helm "You go and find one on the battlefield."

"What?" the darker femme asked in confusion.

"I'm talking about that sniper of yours, Tailgate." Chromia teased flicking the younger femme's forehelm with her long fingers, "Femme, he carried you here!"

"I'm sure I could have walked!" Arcee protested only to hiss as she felt the new knee joint shift in her leg.

"Oh sure you could have." Chromia deadpanned with a grin, "Elita thought it was sweet too, she's even partnered you two up from now on, Congratulations you're now in Delta-Squad!"

"WHAT!" the dark blue femme cried in mortification, "That's a demotion!"

"No it's not." The cannon obsessed femme giggled as the doors of the Medbay hissed open to reveal a familiar white swirled, dark ruby mech with a sniper rifle magnetised to his back. "I'd say it was a promotion." The light blue plated femme purred sultry, waving at the sheepish looking mech that crossed the immaculate room to Arcee's berth.

"So," the mech smiled cheekily at the dark blue femme's greeting glower, his golden optics glinting in good humour as she moodily crossed her arms across her chest plates. "How's the leg… partner?"


End file.
